It wasn’t as pretty as Lipscomb coach Jon Ireland would have liked, but it’s hard to say anything bad about the first victory of the season.

Friday afternoon the Lady Bisons broke into the win column with a 1-0 shutout of Central Arkansas in Conway, Ark.

“We didn’t play as well as we have in some games this season,” Ireland said. “Our players were a little disappointed with their performances. There wasn’t a lot of excitement after the game.”

Sophomore forward Halie Proffitt scored her first goal of the season at the 6:18 mark of the first half. Sophomore midfielder Kate Spellman was credited with the assist.

“Halie scored on a breakaway in the first 10 minutes,” said Ireland. “We had been working on that play all week. We had also been talking all week about finishing plays and that is what Halie did.”

Senior goalkeeper Katie Shelton, making her second start of the season, made seven saves on the way to the shutout. Central Arkansas attempted 10 shots with seven shots on goal.

“Our defense has shown improvements, but the offense is still developing,” Ireland said. “It was really a defensive game. Neither team had a lot of opportunities.”

The Lady Bisons were credited with six shots with freshman midfielder Danielle Bethke and senior midfielder Sara Green each making two shot attempts. However, Proffitt’s successful shot was the only shot on goal for the Lady Bisons.

The game, which started at noon, was a challenge for the Lady Bisons on a couple of fronts. Plans to leave the Lipscomb campus at 3 were delayed to 6:30 and then delayed again Thursday night.

“We left campus around 8:30 p.m.,” Ireland said. “The players didn’t get settled in their hotel rooms until 3 a.m. And they had to be up at 7:30 in the morning.

“The temperature was about 90 degrees at game time. I wasn’t sure what to expect.”